Magazine

We Need to Start Talking About Money

By Sallie Krawcheck

May 8, 2017

About a year ago, one of my colleagues at Ellevest did an informal survey
with 10 of her girlfriends. One of the questions was “Which [your savings
account or sex life] are you more likely to talk about at brunch with
your friends?”

Which answer do you think got eight votes and won by a landslide?

Yup, you guessed it — women generally shy away from talking about money.
(Fidelity ran a formal survey and also found that eight
out of 10 women decided against discussing finances with close
friends and family.) And who can blame us? It’s seen as gauche, crass,
and just plain rude.

But the truth is, money is power. The society we live in is a capitalist
one, and money steers it. It plays out in politics; it plays out in the
way companies handle (or don’t) allegations of sexual harassment against
their senior employees; and it can even play out in our personal
relationships.

Avoiding conversations about money because they make us uncomfortable
doesn’t change this. Instead, it can leave us as women worse off. How do
you know how much of a raise to ask for…if you don’t know how much
of a raise to ask for?

But if we women aren’t going to talk openly about how money affects us (and I mean all of us)…who will?

Ok, so the topic of money is a tough one.

There has also been a backlash against the concept of “feminism.” One
might think it’s a bit hard to argue against the concept of the
“political, economic, and social equality of the sexes” (not my
definition; Merriam-Webster’s). But for some sizeable group of people the
concept makes them see red.

So if you’re crazy enough to talk about money and feminism in the same
breath, to date you’ve entered a third-rail situation. Don’t believe me?
Check out the comments section of some of my LinkedIn posts on the topic.
Makes me wonder how angry some folks might be if their comments were
anonymous. Heart attack stuff.

Some of the critiques around feminism and money in the past have been
valid: The feminist movement has a history of prioritizing the needs of
affluent, white women over those of women of color, women with different
sexual orientations, women with less money and education, and women with
disabilities. And it’s a valid concern that conversations about women and
money will leave women with little or no money forgotten on the sidelines.

But if we women aren’t talking about money — about how it affects us (and
I mean all of us), about how far money takes people in our society, about
how we’re at a disadvantage by not having as much money as
men especially as we get older, and about how we need to change
this…who will?

Now, more than ever, is the time for financial feminism. And it’s easier
than ever for us to put it into action.

The “What” of Financial Feminism

Financial feminism is about women doing four very important things with
money: earning it, making more of it, saving and investing more of it,
and using it to make our world better. It’s how we achieve greater
security. It’s how we reduce the number of situations in which the other
person holds most, if not all, of the power…be it in our personal or
our business lives. And it’s not just good for us: the more opportunities
women have, the better off society is (and
the research backs
this up).

The “Why” of Financial Feminism

The United States is the richest country in the world, yet we’re facing a
retirement savings crisis. And who’s losing out the most? Women. On
average, we retire with two-thirds the savings of men.

So, on the one hand, there’s an immense amount of wealth in this country.
But on the other hand, we women don’t have our fair share.

A big reason why women retire with less money than men is the pay gap,
yes — but also that we’re not saving and investing as much as we need to.
We live longer, we earn less — and we need to account for that while
preparing for retirement.

That’s why I founded Ellevest — to help women save and invest more for
retirement. That, and to help women achieve their other big goals in
life…ones that may be out of reach today because we don’t invest
as much as men do.

The Financial Feminism To-Do List

Ok, so how do we do it? How do we get more money? Through action on two
fronts: for ourselves as individuals, and for women as a whole. And you
can start with the steps below:

Buy from companies that value women.

Women control 80% of consumer spending. Let’s put our money where our
values are. The BUY
UP Index rates brands, companies, and products on how well they
actually support women. That’s bad news for companies that pay us lip
service with Olivia Pope-approved statements on gender diversity and
gender equality yet are pale and male at the top.

Back women entrepreneurs.

Women founders typically have
a harder time raising money than men when they go the standard
venture capital route. But women do
really well on crowdfunding sites: Two-thirds of women-led campaigns
meet their #goals while one-third of those led by men do. You can support
women entrepreneurs on iFundWomen, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo —
how much you give to each campaign is up to you. And if you want to back
in a bigger way, sites like Plum
Alley help you invest directly in women-owned businesses.

Invest. Invest. Invest.

Broken record here, but it needs to be said. Over and over again. When
you invest, you give yourself the opportunity to earn more money than
what you’d likely get from keeping your money in a
barely-earning-interest savings account. That could mean a better
retirement. A nicer house. A bigger F-Off fund.

With financial feminism, women will start talking about money. We’ll ask
for more money, we’ll save more money, we’ll invest more money, and we’ll
give ourselves the opportunities we deserve.

Information was obtained from third party sources, which we believe to be
reliable but not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness.

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Investing entails risk including the possible loss of principal and there
is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over
any period of time.

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